[lubuntu-devel] dropping i386/PPC (was: Re: State of PPC)

[Fritz Hudnut]

@wxl:

Again asking what time this will be happening?  I tried the link and it
said "page doesn't exist" . . . possibly link is busted or the page doesn't
exist until in use?

F

On Mon, Nov 14, 2016 at 12:36 PM, Walter Lapchynski <wxl at ubuntu.com> wrote:

> It should be pointed out that this discussion is not only about PPC but
> it's also about i386. Since i386 is a major target of Lubuntu, I would
> advise attendance.
>
> On Mon, Nov 14, 2016 at 9:14 AM, Bryan Quigley <
> bryan.quigley at canonical.com> wrote:
>
>> Sorry for the late notice - there is a live discussion scheduled for
>> this Wednesday on this topic for any flavors that want to further the
>> discussion.
>>
>> http://summit.ubuntu.com/uos-16 11/meeting/22714/architecture-
>> discussions/
>>
>> On Fri, Jul 22, 2016 at 4:59 PM, Walter Lapchynski <wxl at ubuntu.com>
>> wrote:
>> > As you can see from the page on [PPC][1], the architecture has only
>> > community support from Ubuntu. Lubuntu has been trying as much as we
>> can to
>> > support this, but the fact of the matter is that we have no developers
>> on
>> > our team that can actually help with PPC bugs.
>> >
>> > The best you can hope for is that kernel developers (mostly, the issue
>> is
>> > with drivers) might have some interest in fixing bugs. However, with
>> only
>> > community support, that's unlikely. Most of the focus on PPC has been
>> on the
>> > server side of things, where graphics just don't come into play.
>> >
>> > My estimation of things is that Lubuntu on PPC mostly works, given a few
>> > caveats. All we need to do to release PPC is for all of the test cases
>> to be
>> > completed successfully (regardless of whether or not there are bugs) and
>> > that marked on the QA tracker for the final testing of each milestone.
>> If we
>> > don't have that done, Canonical will not let us release it.
>> >
>> > PPC was what brought me originally to Lubuntu, so there's a special
>> place
>> > for it in my heart. Having an OS make that old hardware work was very
>> > refreshing and introduced me to the real power and mission of Lubuntu.
>> >
>> > However, I haven't ran PPC in a long, long time. That being said, I'm
>> not of
>> > much help. We rely on the community of users to help out. When I don't
>> see
>> > testing happening in the community, it makes me think that I'm not the
>> only
>> > one that's neglected their PPC machines.
>> >
>> > The reality of the situation is that there has been much talk
>> throughout the
>> > Ubuntu community over the past few years about getting rid of i386. If
>> that
>> > happens, I can't imagine that Canonical keeping PPC. With that in mind,
>> I
>> > think the end of PPC Lubuntu is coming regardless of what our feelings
>> are.
>> >
>> > Furthermore, the Lubuntu Team is a small one and we often lack the
>> capacity
>> > to do the things that we need to do. PPC is just stretching us even
>> thinner,
>> > and into an area few of us really have the experience, knowledge,
>> resources,
>> > or time to deal with.
>> >
>> > That said, I'm inclined to suggest we start the process of removing
>> PPC. We
>> > managed to release an LTS, which is the only version we even bother
>> with PPC
>> > on. All we would need to do is ensure that all the point releases for
>> Trusty
>> > and Xenial get published. That would put us out until about August 2018.
>> >
>> > I think ultimately this will be better for the team. Most importantly,
>> > though, I think it will be better for the PPC users that I fear we can't
>> > really support and who we often leave with a frustrated experience.
>> >
>> > What do you think?
>> >
>> > [1]: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PowerPC
>> > --
>> > @wxl | http://polka.bike
>> > Lubuntu Release Manager & Head of QA
>> > Ubuntu PPC Point of Contact
>> > Ubuntu Oregon LoCo Team Leader
>> > Ubuntu Membership Board & LoCo Council Member
>> > Eugene Unix & GNU/Linux User Group Co-Organizer
>> >
>> > --
>> > Lubuntu-devel mailing list
>> > Lubuntu-devel at lists.ubuntu.com
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>> > https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/lubuntu-devel
>> >
>>
>
>
>
> --
>        @wxl | polka.bike
> C563 CAC5 8BE1 2F22 A49D
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>
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